The Sabres would love to see one of their prospects step up and earn a roster spot. With Jack Quinn recovering from a torn Achilles tendon, there is an opportunity for young players to force their way into the NHL lineup. Jiri Kulich is an obvious candidate after he scored 24 goals and had 22 assists in 62 AHL games as an 18-year-old last season. He had two goals in the rookie tournament to open camp and has looked better to start veteran camp. He skated with Alex Tuch and Casey Mittelstadt in practice and then got to play with Isak Rosen and Brandon Biro during the preseason opener.
The moment that stood out with Kulich was his goal in the intrasquad scrimmage Saturday. Mittelstadt was battling along the boards and the puck popped loose. Kulich had a quick reaction to beat Victor Olofsson to the puck. He then weaved through Tyson Jost and Riley Stillman to finish the play with a goal. We know Kulich has an incredible shot, and that’s why he got a lot of run on the power play in the preseason opener. He had a wicked shot early in the game that rang off the post.
Kulich is showing he’s more than just a shooter. He has great offensive instincts and is starting to understand how to use his body to create leverage when battling for pucks. He did that in the second period of the preseason game, drawing a penalty in the offensive zone. Kulich’s size and confidence are two reasons he transitioned so well to pro hockey last season.
But if he’s going to play in the NHL this season, he needs to be able to make an impact at five-on-five. He still has work to do away from the puck. According to Natural Stat Trick, Kulich was on the ice for 12 shot attempts against and only two shot attempts for at five-on-five. He, Isak Rosen and Brandon Biro had a tough time generating offense at five-on-five. Neither Kulich nor Rosen got a shot on goal at five-on-five.
### Zach Benson taking advantage of his opportunity
Zach Benson got to spend the first few days of practice on a line with Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner. Then in the first preseason game, he played with Tyson Jost and Jordan Greenway on what was Buffalo’s strongest line against Washington. Benson does not look out of place. In fact, he scored the go-ahead goal in the third period of the game, deflecting a Ryan Johnson point shot.
Granato praised Benson’s hockey sense (ability to read and react in the moment) and hockey IQ (ability to recognize plays and situations). It was fair to wonder how that would translate for an 18-year-old in an NHL camp, but Benson’s hockey smarts allow him to play fast even at the highest level. Not only did he have a goal Sunday, but also Benson tied for the team lead with three shots on goal at five-on-five. He also nearly had an assist when Greenway was stopped at the doorstep. This has been a strong start to camp for Benson.
Little_Charge3225
Can Benson play in the AHL? I know Savoie cannot but I can’t remember about Benson.
Achilles_Buffalo
Six things we learned: 1) Nothing 2) Absolutely nothing 3) Nada 4) -459.6 Farenheit 5) What Socrates knows that he knows. 6) ((e^(i*pi)) + 1)
It’s a preseason game. Eric Comrie and Dustin Tokarski were our goalie tandem, for christ sake.
I’m sorry…we did learn one thing. Biro can score a pretty sick penalty shot goal.
3 Comments
https://archive.ph/qyTtT
### Jiri Kulich’s ups and downs
The Sabres would love to see one of their prospects step up and earn a roster spot. With Jack Quinn recovering from a torn Achilles tendon, there is an opportunity for young players to force their way into the NHL lineup. Jiri Kulich is an obvious candidate after he scored 24 goals and had 22 assists in 62 AHL games as an 18-year-old last season. He had two goals in the rookie tournament to open camp and has looked better to start veteran camp. He skated with Alex Tuch and Casey Mittelstadt in practice and then got to play with Isak Rosen and Brandon Biro during the preseason opener.
The moment that stood out with Kulich was his goal in the intrasquad scrimmage Saturday. Mittelstadt was battling along the boards and the puck popped loose. Kulich had a quick reaction to beat Victor Olofsson to the puck. He then weaved through Tyson Jost and Riley Stillman to finish the play with a goal. We know Kulich has an incredible shot, and that’s why he got a lot of run on the power play in the preseason opener. He had a wicked shot early in the game that rang off the post.
Kulich is showing he’s more than just a shooter. He has great offensive instincts and is starting to understand how to use his body to create leverage when battling for pucks. He did that in the second period of the preseason game, drawing a penalty in the offensive zone. Kulich’s size and confidence are two reasons he transitioned so well to pro hockey last season.
But if he’s going to play in the NHL this season, he needs to be able to make an impact at five-on-five. He still has work to do away from the puck. According to Natural Stat Trick, Kulich was on the ice for 12 shot attempts against and only two shot attempts for at five-on-five. He, Isak Rosen and Brandon Biro had a tough time generating offense at five-on-five. Neither Kulich nor Rosen got a shot on goal at five-on-five.
### Zach Benson taking advantage of his opportunity
Zach Benson got to spend the first few days of practice on a line with Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner. Then in the first preseason game, he played with Tyson Jost and Jordan Greenway on what was Buffalo’s strongest line against Washington. Benson does not look out of place. In fact, he scored the go-ahead goal in the third period of the game, deflecting a Ryan Johnson point shot.
Granato praised Benson’s hockey sense (ability to read and react in the moment) and hockey IQ (ability to recognize plays and situations). It was fair to wonder how that would translate for an 18-year-old in an NHL camp, but Benson’s hockey smarts allow him to play fast even at the highest level. Not only did he have a goal Sunday, but also Benson tied for the team lead with three shots on goal at five-on-five. He also nearly had an assist when Greenway was stopped at the doorstep. This has been a strong start to camp for Benson.
Can Benson play in the AHL? I know Savoie cannot but I can’t remember about Benson.
Six things we learned:
1) Nothing
2) Absolutely nothing
3) Nada
4) -459.6 Farenheit
5) What Socrates knows that he knows.
6) ((e^(i*pi)) + 1)
It’s a preseason game. Eric Comrie and Dustin Tokarski were our goalie tandem, for christ sake.
I’m sorry…we did learn one thing. Biro can score a pretty sick penalty shot goal.